Defining Suspension and Expulsion
Suspension
- In School/Program Suspension: The child is temporally removed from classroom and/or class peers. Child is sent to some other part of the school/ program (e.g., other classroom, director’s office) for part of the day or multiple days in response to problem behavior. This includes when the child is removed from the classroom to spend extended time with administrator, counselor, behavior therapist or other adult.
- Short Term Out-of-School/Program Suspension: Child is sent home for some part of the school/program day in response to problem behavior.
- Out-of-School/Program Suspension: Child is not allowed to return to school/program for one or more days in response to problem behavior.
- For children with disabilities served under IDEA (with an IEP or IFSP): Out-of school/program suspension is an instance in which a child is temporarily removed from his/her regular school/program to another setting (e.g., home, behavior center) for at least half a day in response to problem behavior. Out-of school/program suspensions include both removals in which no individualized family service plan (IFSP) or individualized education program (IEP) services are provided because the removal is 10 days or less as well as removals in which the child continues to receive services according to his/her IFSP or IEP.
Expulsion
Expulsion/Dismissal: Permanent dismissal of the child from the program in response to problem behavior. Does not include transition to another program, service or classroom (e.g., special education, transitional classroom, or therapeutic preschool program) deemed more appropriate for the child if done in collaboration with the family and the receiving classroom, program or service.
Preschool children are suspended up to three times more than students from kindergarten through 12th grades. In 2014, the United States Department of Education released the results of its 2012 Civil Rights Data Collection, which, for the first time included preschool data. The results showed that approximately 5,000 preschoolers were suspended at least once in 2012 and of those, nearly 2,500 were suspended a second time. African American children, who comprise only 18 percent of the preschool population, make up nearly half of all preschool suspensions. American Indian and Native Alaskan students represent less than 1% of the student population but up to 3% of suspensions and expulsions.
In recognition of the importance of addressing suspension and expulsion, the US Departments of Education and Health and Human Services issued a Policy Statement on Expulsion and Suspension Policies in Early Childhood Settings in 2014 that provides recommendations to States and local early childhood programs to prevent and severely limit expulsions and suspensions in early learning settings. These recommendations include the implementation of multi-tiered systems of support (i.e., Pyramid Model) and the training of staff in implementing prevention and intervention strategies and ensuring effective practices that are free of bias and discrimination.
